


I Will Follow You Into The Dark

by nataliemk



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-30
Updated: 2015-03-30
Packaged: 2018-03-20 10:58:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3647814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nataliemk/pseuds/nataliemk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A one-shot on how and when Felicity tells Oliver that she loves him. I'm all for grand romantic gestures but for Oliver and Felicity I'd like it to be simple and sweet. A confirmation of what they've always known. Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Will Follow You Into The Dark

Of all the times and places she thought she would say it, on plane headed to Nanda Parbat was not in the realm of possibility. Then again nothing that had happened in her life these past 3 years was. 

Ra’s al Ghul had caused too much destruction, too much blood had been shed for any of them to ignore what had to be done. The only difference this time was he wasn’t alone. Oliver wasn’t alone. When he had announced he was leaving again no one stopped him. That should have been his first clue. 

He arrived at the private airfield and found what was left of the team packed and ready to go. Diggle, Thea and Felicity stood in a line in front of the plane. The responsibility of protecting the city now left to Laurel and Ray.

Oliver protested of course. Begging them to stay. It was Thea who eventually got through to him. A simple threat and that signature steely glint in her eye. Either we come with you or you go through us. 

Now the plane cut through the dark night. Everyone had set up their own space and settled in for the long flight. Soon Diggle’s soft snores filled the cabin and Thea laid spread out over three seats. 

Felicity sat towards the front, her laptop and tablet setup. Fingers flying furiously, searching, planning, tracking. Those were the things she was good at. Felicity knows that no amount of training from Dig will turn her into a fighter like the rest of the team. But she can fight in her own way, protect those she loves the only way she knows how. 

Oliver watches her work. Her eyes glued to the screen. Her usual sleek ponytail is messy and frizzy blonde hair has formed a halo around her forehead. She yawns and pushes her glasses back up her nose, takes a big gulp of coffee and returns to work. Oliver sighs. He can see the ache in her neck and shoulders from hunching over, the dark circles forming crescents under her eyes. He knows she carries the weight of this team and every once and while she lets the cracks show. 

Felicity’s phone rings. It’s chirping ringtone fills the silent cabin. She rushes to silent it, looking cautiously around to make sure she hasn’t woken anyone up. Oliver quickly leans his head back pretending to be asleep. Felicity answers it with a hushed voice. Oliver puts his earbuds in to give her privacy. 

A few minutes later he sees her set down her phone. Felicity takes off her glasses and wipes tears from her eyes with her sleeve. Oliver pulls out the earbuds and can hear her quiet sobs. 

Felicity doesn’t hear Oliver get up, lost in the conversation she just had. She suddenly feels his warm hand on her shoulder. She looks up to see his worried face and outstretched hand with a box of tissues. She gives him a tearful smile and quickly clears the seat next to her. Oliver sits and she takes the tissue. 

“You ok?” he asks with concern.

Felicity gives him a half hearted smile. She wants to say yes, she wants to shield him from her pain, he carries so much of his own, she’s afraid another load might break him.

“Yeah.” she offers in an unconvincing voice.

“Fel-i-ci-ty.” he says in that way only he can say her name. And just like that she lets go. Because it’s him asking and no matter how high the wall she builds around her heart, he will always find a way over it. 

“That was my mom. I told her I was leaving for an extended business trip to Japan. That I would be hard to reach and to call Ray if she needed anything.” she sniffles. 

All Oliver can do is wrap his arm around her and pull her close. He knows the cost of lying to those you love to keep them safe. The hole that digs into your heart. Felicity leans in and cries softly. Oliver strokes his hand through her ponytail and kisses the top of her head. 

“I’m so sorry.” he whispers.

“I know it’s better this way. Ray promised to take care of her if anything happens but as soon as I hung up all I could think about was that...that might have been our last conversation. The last time I’ll hear her say I love you. I didn’t get to tell her how much she means to me. How thankful I am to have been her daughter.” Felicity sobbed.

“She’s your mother. She knows.” Oliver reassured her. 

Felicity burrows into Oliver’s chest and he tightens his embrace, making a silent promise that if they make it through this hell he will never let go again. They have already lost so much, he can't lose her.

If you asked him when he fell in love with her, he wouldn’t be able to answer. It wasn’t a sudden flash but instead built over time. Through the supportive looks and quiet smiles. It was built from the trust that forms between friends, between partners until one day he looked at her and knew. He knew that she was home.

After a few minutes, Felicity pulls away, she wipes her eyes with another tissue. Taking a few deep breaths to calm her frayed nerves. 

“The night my mother died, at the rally at Verdant. She told me she knew. That she knew I was the Arrow. She said she was proud of me. And for the first time since I had come back I felt like she really saw me.” Oliver said. 

He takes Felicity’s face in his hands and stares into the deep blues of her eyes. “I know that if your mother knew the truth, she would be proud too. You are the strongest, most kind, loving woman I have ever met Felicity. I never wanted any of this for you. I wanted to keep you safe.”

Felicity searches Oliver’s face. Could he really not know? After all these years, this is the only place she wants to be. Felicity had always been searching for home. It wasn’t in the scorching desert of Las Vegas or the crowded halls of MIT. She had found it in a dark basement of a club. She had found it with an ex-special forces brick wall of a man and a broken street-wise boy. But most all she had found it with a man who bore the scars of tragedy, whose light burned so deep and so bright that it often blinded him to the truth of himself. 

“I’m only safe when I’m with you. I love you Oliver Queen and we are going to fight through this together. Ra’s thinks that love is a weakness, but he is wrong. It is our strength.” she says with a fiery resolve. 

Oliver lets out a breath. He’s sure it’s the breath he’s been holding in his lungs since he met her. He feels her lips crashing onto his and he welcomes it. It’s unlike any other kiss they’ve shared. It’s filled with hope and the promise of what is to come. It melts away any doubt of what they are. They are partners. In the mission and in life.

When they finally pull away to breathe, they share a look and then Felicity settles in Oliver’s side. Her head fitting perfectly into the crook of his neck. His arm wrapping around her, his hand resting on her hip. They both let out a deep sigh and sink into each other.

Diggle wakes them when the plane lands. As they exit, John and Thea sense a change in their friends. They share a knowing look that says finally. 

Stepping onto the hot sand of Nanda Parbat each one of them says a silent prayer and makes a promise to make it out alive. For Lyla and Sara, in memory of Roy, for Starling City and most of all, for themselves.

**Author's Note:**

> What!?! Roy's dead!?! For the record I don't think Roy is going to die. It's a popular theory that's been floating around and I honestly couldn't think of a way to incorporate him into the scene without the plane feeling crowded. I also liked the idea of Diggle and Thea sharing a moment.


End file.
